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Saturday, Nov 7, 2009
HIGH Tide:
Low Tide;
A "DIRTY BOMB" washed up for Football Season:
KARK ROVE the DIRTY BOMB of these United States of America.
ROVEon washes up calling on CHEERLEADER NATION and FEAR FACTOR, and probably the newest of new "Friday Night Football".
GO TEAM GO says King George, keep 'em scared.
NASCAR is out; FOOTBALL is IN.
Scare 'em on the Home Field, KARL!
But let 'em in down in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California.
There is much more MONEY to be made OVERSEAS, American tax dollars at work!
I have read all the letters and the article. I am struck by the allusion to the Tolkien ring. The wearer did not become ultimately dazzled, he (she) became Gollum like, a slave to the power of the object. (And I seem to recall that the Christian right had some big time problems with Mr. Tolkien, so how does this guy slip this one in?) One of the letters spoke of the apology as non apology. That writing a book pointing out the flaws and fallacies of this administration, was the authors way of cleansing the crud stuck onto them by Bush et. al. WTF, what rose colored glasses did these folks have on anyway. Or more cynically, had they gotten their money for the faith based initiative, my guess is they would still be in the thick of things no matter what the Rove called them. I belabor this point because it reminds me so much of the letter I wrote a few days ago about Woodwards' book. Again what blinders did these folks put on when they enterred the halls of power?? Unlike the letter writer who wants repentence rather than apology, I want an apology. I want a big fat public purple gnashing of teeth apology. I need to know from these hooligans that they understand that they have subverted the foundation of our democracy, and like my child who stays out past an appointed time, I want to extract a consequence on their sorry asses. I am thinking about a 3 or 4 year time out. Like no lobbying, no book contracts, no tv after dinner kind of consequence. and finally when and if they find Jesus, I hope, no I demand, that they keep it to themselves. Cause guess what?? Some of us just don't care. Some of us are not Christians. To some of us; what a person believes is an unimportant as the color of their skin, who they are sleeping with, or who they are going to vote for. As this latest power grab flushes itself down the toilet of history I truly hope that there is enough of America left to become a beacon of hope for us and others.
Thanks for the rant space,
Bill
Kuo says: The problem is that Christians have been so invested in evangelizing politics that they have politicized their religion, and they've bought into an us-and-them mentality
An us-and-them mentality is the very essence of religion. Exactly why it is such a divisive force throughout world history. Inclusiveness is not religion's strong suit. Oh sure, religions will pitch a big tent, but to stay in the tent you have to believe, you have to join the "us" and renounce the "them." Thus, the outsiders become less valid, less worthy, and less deserving in the eyes of the faithful (except insofar as their conversion potential). It is only a matter of degree compared to the dehumanization of enemies that has been used throughout history to polarize warring groups. And to many fundamentalists, it is indeed carried to the same extremes.
Kuo states:"The problem is that Christians have been so invested in evangelizing politics that they have politicized their religion, and they've bought into an us-and-them mentality, so that frankly we -- they -- can no longer even communicate with people who happen to have different political views. Jesus sought out people who were prostitutes, outcasts and lowlifes. I fear that Christians are forgetting to invest in these very people and in the process isolating themselves by focusing too much on politics. I hope that by taking a step back we can give some of those hundreds of millions of dollars that are spent on attack ads, give it to the poor, give it to an after-school program, spend time with neighbors. As hokey as that may sound, it's what Jesus said to do, and I think it's more important right now than politics."
Utter nonsense.
I've been an active conservative evangelical for 25 years. What I've observed is that conservative Christians--both in leadership and especially at the grassroots--who are the most passionate and active in socially conservative politics are ALSO some of the ones who are the most passionate and active in compassion outreaches and ministries. Yes, there are many politically liberal evangelicals, like Kuo, who are involved in compassion ministries, and virtually all politically conservative Christians are thankful for that, and often partner with them (cf. World Vision). But . . . there are MORE politically conservative Christians who are involved in such ministries, both numerically and in terms of donated dollars and volunteer hours.
It's not just my observation.
If you do a survey of those denominations, individual churches, non-profit organizations, and individuals who are BOTH politically active AND heavily financially invested in compassion ministries (poverty alleviation, feeding programs, counseling, addiction recovery, etc.), you will find politically conservative Christians massively involved helping the poor and needy. The Southern Bapists are just a small example of this massive effort. And if you look at the operations of those ministries, you will see that although evangelism plays a role, no "conversion" is required to receive help such as food.
As always, there will be exceptions to this scenario, but the general picture I've painted is accurate. In general, politically conservative evangelical Christians have their priorities straight: evangelism, compassion, politics. On many issues, these three areas intersect (such as religious freedom, justice issues, etc.). And often, some evangelical leaders do indeed get dazzled and suckered. But not in general. In general, these three priorities remain.
Another Kuo fallacy: the demand for faith-based bucks by evangelicals.
The truth is that in general, the faith-based initiative never did sell well with top evangelicals. Some were on board. Many others were skeptical. When the money didn't come, most faith-based groups didn't care. They didn't want the strings that would have been attached to such funding. In that regard, Kuo is indeed naive, because this was well reported in the Christian media. There was never any massive push for the money; the demand was tepid.
Another Kuo fallacy:
He says Jesus would not care about "political" issues like abortion and the legal definition of marriage. So, I guess Kuo doesn't see the brutal dismembering of what even liberals agree is a human baby to be a "compassion" issue. I guess he doesn't see giving pregnant women an option to adopt out their baby and get the skills to climb out of poverty or destructive relationships as a "compassion" issue. I guess he doesn't see the statistical relationship between the sexual revolution's legal and cultural attack on traditional marriage and family and the increase in STDs, abuse, messed up children, a nose-diving lifespan and skyrocketing mental illness rate for gay people (especially in geographic areas where they are most "affirmed", such as San Francisco, New York, and L.A.), and other pathologies as a "compassion" issue. I guess he doesn't see this because part of the problem (and solution) involves "dirty" fields like law, public policy, and politics.
The fact is that politically conservative Christians do see all these as compassion issues. So they pour in volunteer hours, money for the poor and needy, and political activism where necessary into such causes.
And not to establish a theocracy (no reputable Christian leader advocates such a thing), but to have the freedom to serve others and express their viewpoint.
Maybe Kuo needs to take a fast from politics, but not from reading his Bible. That Bible shows that Jesus, who is God over all things, is very interested in using all avenues--including, but not limited to, civics--to advocate for compassion and justice. That's politics.
And hopefully, all the paranoid posters I've read regarding this article will get a grip. The big, bad evangelical monsters under your bed aren't there. We're out trying to live our lives, love our families, befriend our neighbors, help the poor, and persuade others of our ideas regarding freedom and justice. If that scares you, then you're scared of the 1st Amendment.
Much of the initial coverage about Fort Hood turned out to be wrong. Is there anything wrong with that?
The accountability imposed by another country for the CIA's kidnapping and torture reveals much about our own.
Fox News' morning show plays to type, talking about whether Muslims in the Army should face "special debriefings"
The Maine fight was supposed to be the dress rehearsal for repealing California's Prop. 8 -- but gay marriage lost
Once one obtains Seriousness credentials in the Washington media, they are irrevocable no matter one's conduct.
Salon headlines in your mailbox
